Economy
The nations resources must be split between:
Design objectives for economy model
Players should be unable to build (at least at consistent cost) significant infrastructure away from their main economic product centres (modelling to cost of transporting labour and materials)
Players should not be pushing settlers/engineers type units around the map to build infrastructure
There should be no distinction between infrastructure types (i.e. those built via build queue, and those built via engineering units)
Where resource for infrastructure construction is sent from one area to another, such transits should be blockable and interceptable by adversaries
There should be “provinces” not cities (all tiles are worked at once, variable shapes and sizes)
Design decisions
Should players initiate infrastructure construction from the main map, or from a “provinces” dialogue?
Should suspended infrastructure projects deteriorate? (this adds realism, but not fun)
Some thoughts
Infrastructure improvements in a province should be funded by that province
Provinces should be able to transmit production units to another province, with a transit cost
Players should initiate infrastructure improvements from the main map, however they should be able to see and manage a list of all the current infrastructure projects for the province
Management includes the prioritization of the improvements (through setting the build rates), cancelling improvements
Each improvement has a "production units per turn" cost, the actual consumed production units per turn will be lower of the build rate it is set to, and the available production units apportioned across all the improvements
Each infrastructure improvement has three variables: production units required (e.g. 10); default production units per turn (e.g. 2, requiring a build time of 5 turns); a maximum production units per turn (e.g. 4, requiring 3 turns to build)
Each production unit per turn in excess of the default production unit per turn actually consumes 1.25 production units. For example, for an infrastructure item with the following variables {"productionunits":10,"defaultunitsperturn":2,"maxunitsperturn":4} if the build rate is set to 3 units per turn, then the cost would be 3.25. If the build rate is set to 4 units per turn, the cost would be 4.5.
Sabotage / military damage to infrastructure projects sets back the amount of production units accrued
What the build queue might look like
Unallocated production units to be generated: 50
The column "Currently assigned build rate (production units per turn)" would have spinner buttons on it. Changing the spinner would affect the unallocated production units, the actual build rate, and the turns to complete.
Detailed trade / economic model version 1
Each turn, each tile takes all surplus resources and sends to its administrative centre as a bundle.
Each bundle travels by the most efficient route. The time taken depends on the technology level of the civilisation, and the infrastructure on the tile.
Each administrative centre maintains stocks of each resource. Any resources above the stock levels are sent to other administrative centres with which their is an active trading relationship (i.e. know about the civilisation, not at war or under trade embargo, have a route available - not locked in by hostile territory). The destination for the bundle depends on the amount being offered and the move cost to the tile.
Bundles can change destination mid-route (to get a better price).
Each administrative centre offers a price each turn for each commodity. The lower the stock, the higher the price paid.
Instant global information on price paid by buyer.
Seller has discount rate. The further the buyer is away, the longer the journey, the less the value to the seller.
Movement from sea to land on a non-port tile takes longer.
There is a trigger which acts per tile on building infrastructure based on: available resources, resources that pass through the tile.
The government sits apart from the economy, but can control it (taxes, etc) and buy from it. The government can also build its own infrastructure. e.g. a weapons factory owned by the economy will sell weapons on the open market, a weapons factory owned by government will only return weapons to government.
Bundles can be seen on the map via a "Bundle View"
Assumption: all resources travel at the same speed?
Raid: a military unit steals resources from a neighbouring enemy tile, but doesn't move there. Can be ship raiding a harbour, or land unit raiding road tiles (etc). The collected bundle moves to the nearest administrative centre, then becomes part of the government resources.
Detailed trade / economic model version 2
This model doesn't rely on administrative centres. Each tile is an independent economic unit
Each tile has private consumption: a minimum private consumption for food and fuel (below which people die), and a maximum consumption for each commodity type.
Commodity substitution? E.g. oil, coal and wood can all be used for heating.
Different climates have different fuel minima, and commodity maxima.
Consumption order
Relative price elasticity of demand of each commodity
there is an advertising round: each tile says how much of each commodity they are willing to purchase, at what price
each bundle, in a random order, moves to maximise return. if the bundle hits a requesting tile, the exchange happens at the advertised price
global currency unit
advertising round
movement and settlement round
consumption and production round
bundling of excess round
the prices are advertised based on the infrastructure input requirements and the historic selling price of the processed commodity
Modelling production
The amount of production is based on the quantities required inputs: labour; input resources; and infrastructure.
The challenges of modelling production are:
How are scarce resources allocated
Modelling consumption
Modelling industrial demand is relatively easy. It's the input resources mentioned above for modelling supply. However it is also necessary to model private consumption.
The challenges of modelling private consumption are:
Distinguishing essentials from luxuries (the absence of essentials has an impact on the game, etc the population dies without food)
Prioritising essentials
Abstract trade / economic model
Trade occurs between each tile provided that:
Both tiles are populated
Both tiles are known to each civilisation
The owning civilisations are not at war with each other
The owning civilisations don't have trade embargoes against each other
There is a non-hostile route between the two tiles
And in proportion to:
Population of the tiles
The resource production of the tiles
Technology level
Trade distance between the tiles (considers move costs, ports, etc)
Trade acts like a multiplier to the resource production of a tile.
Each tile produces resources and tax resources. Currency units are a % of resources in proportion to the tax rate.
Calculation rounds
Resources produced
Tax take
Trade multiplier
Abstract trade / economic model with food
As above.
Each tile produces food, resources and tax resources. Currency units are a % of resources in proportion to the tax rate.
Excess food in a tile is automatically distributed to friendly tiles within range that have a food deficit, otherwise are converted to resources.
Calculation rounds
Food production
Food transfer to neighbouring tiles
Food conversion to resources
Production and consumption relationships
Production and consumption relationships in other games
Civilisation II
People only consume food. Units consume shields. All other production is taken by, and controlled by, the government for the production of units or infrastructure.
Stronghold
People only consume food. Other resources are for the production of units or infrastructure.
To consider for economic/trade model: how to model entrepôts (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrep%C3%B4t)